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Do you know what the #1 symptom of Menopause is? I bet it’s not what you think! There are many different menopausal symptoms (three dozen or so!) and each woman experiences menopause differently; which symptoms cause the greatest disruption to YOUR life will be unique to YOU. But even so, with my patients at Women […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Menopause is a time of change and it can be so confusing! There is so much information out there (and so many stories) about what will happen to your body — and your life! Will you gain weight, lose your sex drive, suffer from hot flashes? Will menopause feel as […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Menopause is a time of life that many women dread. They hear horror stories about it’s symptoms, including weight gain, insomnia, mood swings, and vaginal dryness, all that can be quite bothersome. This is especially true for women experiencing early menopause. If you are between 40 and 45 and are […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB-GYN NP Stop your symptoms with optimal nutrition Try herbal remedies that work as adaptogens for your hormones Find exercise you love to help reduce fat and help estrogen and progesterone ratios Take steps to reduce your stress Understand that our emotions play a vital role in our health Natural alternatives have […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Menopause often starts with hot flashes. Or does it? When you reach menopause, you’ll gain weight, won’t you? A lot of people agree that menopause changes a woman’s life in some rather unwanted ways. But menopause doesn’t have to be a time of confusion and anxiety. It may be a […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP “What does menopause mean for my body?” “Why does my doctor tell me I’m fine when I know something’s just not right?” “What options are there to help me feel like myself again?” If you have questions about menopause, you’re like thousands of other women. At Women to Women, we […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB-GYN NP Have you been having trouble sleeping? Maybe you’ve been experiencing hot flashes. Perhaps your clothes don’t seem to fit like they used to or your thinking isn’t quite as clear as it used to be. You are concerned about these changes but they aren’t happening consistently. You might be thinking, what is going on […]

Hormonal imbalance is very common and often complicated, simply because we have so many hormones in our bodies. Because hormones are extremely agile and adaptive, they don’t just stop working, they often find other ways of working and your body will try to compensate for these shifts – and you may start to experience symptoms […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Perimenopause or premenopause is a relatively new term coined in the last twenty years by the medical community to describe symptoms caused by normal hormonal fluctuations that occur as a woman moves closer to her menopause. These symptoms can be broad-ranging and diffuse and differ for every woman, causing a […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, is one of the most common forms of hormonal imbalance affecting women. Up to 75% of all American women who menstruate report experiencing PMS symptoms, and as many as 30–40% report impairment of their daily activity due to PMS. Yet up until the 1980’s, PMS was […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Information, signs and symptoms of perimenopause Up until relatively recently, conventional medicine has had little to offer women suffering from symptoms of hormonal change. Until a woman was deemed to be officially in menopause and could be prescribed synthetic hormone therapy, she was often told that her symptoms were all […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP The brief acceleration of bone loss (also called resorption) that every woman experiences during menopause indicate that a dip in estrogen levels promotes bone resorption—and research has borne this out. It’s one reason many doctors prescribe Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). Furthermore, evidence shows that low doses of estrogen does slow […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP As if the hot flashes and mood swings weren’t enough, many of us going through menopause start to experience more episodes of urinary incontinence. A decrease in estrogen initiates a thinning and weakening of the pelvic muscles and connective tissue — our house just starts to sag a little. The […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP How to make these the most vibrant years of your life! The gifts of menopause and post-menopause for women Stamping out the stigma of menopause The journey to menopause: midlife transitions The Women to Women approach to menopause It astounds me that women are still being told that (and treated […]

Sexual desire is considered to be a life force in many cultures and feeling sexy and desired is a powerful part of being a woman. Fluctuating hormones during perimenopause and declining estrogen after menopause, however, can leave us wondering why we are feeling less interested in sex than we used to be. I often see […]

As women, we all want to look and feel our best. We know the confidence that comes from within when we have a great hair day, our skin is clear and bright, and we feel beautiful. I see so many women at Women to Women struggling with hormonal imbalance or adrenal fatigue and my patients […]

One of the great things about being a health practitioner for more than three decades is that I get to see exciting new research and development emerge –- and also witness the medical and scientific communities retract mistakes and give credence to things that were dismissed years ago. (Remember when butter was “bad” and margarine […]

Whenever I see a patient who is experiencing life-disrupting symptoms, one of the first things we talk about is her diet. At Women to Women, we have learned over the years that the old adage you are what you eat is so very true, especially during the transition before and after menopause. When I ask […]

Almost twenty years ago, the American College of Physicians, a pretty conservative organization, stunned the medical community by issuing a guideline that women over 50 should have their thyroids tested at least once every five years. At that time, most physicians thought that they could diagnose thyroid problems themselves and that testing guidelines were unnecessary. […]

PMS doesn’t exist! That’s what I heard from a speaker recently who was giving a TED-X talk. Describing PMS as a myth, she went as far as to say that the PMS label is an excuse for women to behave in a way that would otherwise not be acceptable. And that for all we know, […]

I remember when Time Magazine called stress the “Epidemic of the 80’s” in its cover story back in 1983. I was so excited to see that Time Magazine, a popular and accepted news source, was talking about something the medical profession rarely recognized back then. With more than 30 years of wisdom since, not much has changed in […]

Last week I was in Tucson, facilitating workshops at the Institute of Functional Medicine. It is such an honor to be asked to facilitate and assist in training so many brilliant minds and amazing health professionals. I love working with like-minded professionals and I get excited about sharing my knowledge, passion and energy with my […]

I’ve had a hysterectomy – will the Women to Women Supplements help me with some of the symptoms I am experiencing? Yes, the Women to Women Supplements will benefit your general health and your hormonal balance, even if you’ve had a hysterectomy, and whether or not you also had your ovaries removed. (Over half the women who keep their ovaries […]

When I ask my patients which menopausal symptoms drive them the craziest and disrupt their lives the most, they give me a variety of answers: fuzzy thinking, weight gain, anxiety, disrupted sleep, decreased libido or painful sex, and mood swings all come to mind. At our clinic, Women to Women, we have seen first-hand that […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB-GYN, NP Some of you may remember the frightening stories related to the safety of IUDs (intrauterine devices) shortly after they were introduced many years ago. Since that time, the IUD has become one of the best methods of preventing pregnancy and it now comes with only minimal risk of adverse consequences […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN, NP Sometimes when women experience problems like increased fatigue, loss of concentration and weight gain, the first thing that comes to mind as the cause is “it must be my thyroid.” The thyroid gland regulates your metabolism, which has a huge impact on your weight, your energy levels, and your moods. […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN, NP With so much change occurring in our bodies (and our lives!) during the years of perimenopause and menopause, it’s not hard to imagine that our sexual experiences may be changing as well. Hot flashes and mood swings may impact how we feel about sex, while weight gain may leave us […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP As women, we spend so much of our lives comparing ourselves to other women – whether it’s our friends, our co-workers, our sisters, or the many women who stare back at us from the pages of magazines or TV and film screens. We use them as models of what is […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP It’s amazing how often we see women at our medical clinic with health issues that can be traced back to insulin resistance. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS, is one such condition that we see with increasing frequency. PCOS affects about 10% of women worldwide and can occur at any age […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP If you’ve been waiting in line at the supermarket or browsed a newsstand recently, you cannot help but notice the controversial and attention getting covers of today’s women’s magazines. If they are not sharing “the secret to losing weight overnight,” these magazines are offering up tips on how to have […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP For so many women, it is easy to miss the signs of a heart attack, and that’s because the symptoms that women have are very different from men. They are often misdiagnosed, especially the top four symptoms, such as heartburn and digestive disorders. Understanding that immediate action is needed if […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Restoring The Energy You Thought Was Lost In this article: Phytotherapy for adrenal health — the role that plant medicine plays within our body Medicinal herbs for adrenal imbalance — our suggestions Real support, not just a one-size-fits-all solution Now let me ask you, does any of this sound familiar? Do […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP They say that your eyes are said to be the window to your soul and if you look deep within you can see the person’s genuineness and truth! But what happens when your eyes aren’t seeing clearly they are irritated, dry, red, and itchy? If you have symptoms of dry […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Many women operate in an ever-present state of low anxiety or worry, also called generalized anxiety that may blossom into episodes of full-blown panic attacks, phobia or anxiety disorders during times of psychological stress or biological change — like menopause. A majority of my patients with chronic anxiety are so […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Making the decision can be a difficult – and sometimes scary decision for some women. Many times, hysterectomy is recommended as a solution for a series of symptoms, other times its recommended due to disease. Reports show than more than half of all women who undergo hysterectomy but retain their […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Conventional wisdom tells women to brace themselves as they age: get ready for your looks to go downhill and your skin to head south. Cosmetic companies make billions of dollars off the fear of aging skin, with new anti-aging products and topical “miracle” products launched every year. From my own […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP The case for thyroid nutrition Nutrients that support our thyroid What about soy and thyroid health? Foods that may disrupt thyroid function Find your balance — the Women to Women approach The thyroid is one of the most important, and often mismanaged, glands we have working in our body. Located […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Insulin resistance is so pervasive today that we evaluate nearly every woman who visits our clinic to determine her level of risk. Most are taken aback when they learn they either already have the condition or are well on their way to developing it. Experts estimate that 25% of all […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP These days we are so inundated with media messages – fat is good, fat is bad – eat more, more – exercise more, exercise less – eat grapefruit – eat all you want! No wonder women everywhere are confused! In order to make good health choices, we need good information […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP As a culture, we’ve been conditioned to accept that joint pain and arthritis are natural signs of aging and are to be expected. Many women I talk with accept this and over time when their pain intensifies, they reach for ibuprofen or acetaminophen to help with pain. Many times I’ll […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Alternative practitioners try to resolve the underlying causes of poor health rather than simply treat the symptoms. In our experience, alternative hypothyroidism treatment can often reverse suboptimal thyroid function well before a woman develops permanent thyroid disease. Success in this approach largely depends on how early we intervene and on […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Many women are concerned about fat. If we think about everything that the media relates to us about the subject of fat, much of it is quite confusing and not entirely true. The patients I see are usually convinced that eating too much fat in their diet makes them fat. […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP You probably know someone who always seems to be angry. It might even be you? How you cope with your feelings of anger is an important factor that can predict your long-term health. Suppressed anger is associated with higher death rates, higher risk for some cancers, high blood pressure, and […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP If you are like many of my patients at Women to Women, you may be thoroughly confused by the conflicting voices sounding off about caffeine. Does caffeine harm or help your body? Does coffee cause breast lumps? Hot flashes? Ulcers? Does it help liver disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s? How […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Virtually everyone has a family history that includes a chronic illness such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer. You may be concerned that you carry a genetic predisposition to one or more of these diseases. But recent science has shown there’s much you can do to prevent disease, starting with […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB-GYN, NP Generally, many women who undergo a hysterectomy (but retain their ovaries) will experience changes in their hormones, even though they still have ovarian function. Some won’t note any differences following their hysterectomy, whereas others will immediately notice significant symptomatology of menopause, even though their ovaries are intact. We have several […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP This is probably the most important single article on our website. Please make the time to read it. The conventional theory of medicine says that your health is a matter of your genetics, exposure to infection and lifestyle. But with rare exceptions, your emotional experience is a greater factor than […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP You feel tired, hungry, and are gaining weight. The afternoon “blahs” are part of your daily life. Maybe you feel thirstier, or wake up at night and need to go to the bathroom. These symptoms are some of the most common we hear at Women to Women, and may be […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP I have talked with my patients for years about cellulite. Some will never wear shorts or a bathing suit because of the appearance of the dimpled skin known as cellulite; many have tried wraps, creams and even electrical stimulation in an effort to regain their formerly smooth and evenly plump […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP In my time as a practitioner, it’s been interesting for me to watch the changing trends in medicine. At one time there were many who doubted me when I talked about eliminating gluten from the diet – many, many women who took this one simple step saw some amazing changes […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB-GYN NP If you are like many women we see in our clinic and you suffer from vaginal dryness, we have words of hope for you. You can find relief without taking large amounts of estrogen into your system. Locally applied bioidentical estrogens are considered a much safer option than oral hormone […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Birth control, hormone replacement therapy and more Hormones are the chemical messengers in the body, and for women diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), these messages may be inconsistent. SLE — the most common form of lupus — is an autoimmune disease causing inflammation which can affect many parts of […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP Second only to cesarean section, hysterectomies are one of the most commonly performed surgeries on women — more than a half a million each year. This operation is done to remove all or part of the uterus, sometimes the cervix, and the ovaries. In certain cases, a hysterectomy is warranted […]

by Marcelle Pick, OB-GYN NP The history behind HRT and new alternatives, such as bioidentical hormones What is hormone replacement therapy or HRT? Depending on the hormone levels in a woman’s body, HRT is the replacement or the balancing of hormones through various forms of therapy. Today, HRT is commonly referred to as HT or […]